Design Now

Harvard Graduate School of Design

In each episode of Design Now—the Harvard Graduate School of Design’s quarterly podcast—faculty, researchers, alumni, and students engage in dialogue on a single topic of global significance. Episodes on the climate crisis, social justice, public health, housing, technology, urbanization, and transportation present new research on design thinking and practice, and illuminate the many, sometimes unexpected, ways in which design is engaged in questions of global politics, culture, and society.

Episodes

  1. Design Now Podcast, Episode 5: The future of library design

    05/11/2023

    Design Now Podcast, Episode 5: The future of library design

    Designers and architects spend their time thinking about how to fit the form of a building to its function. So what happens when that function changes? In this episode of Design Now, we discuss designing libraries for a world in which books are often accessed remotely and knowledge sought via search engines rather than librarians. Francine Houben, John Ronan, and Joshua Ramus have all built acclaimed libraries—including the New York Public Library, the Independence Library and Apartments in Chicago, and the Seattle Central Library, respectively. Listen as they share their expertise on topics including the function of a library as a public space, the role of grandeur in their design, and the perennial question of how to plan for a space whose function will almost certainly evolve in ways we can’t yet imagine. Featuring: Francine Houben, Joshua Ramus, John Ronan Transcript coming soon Show Notes 6:27 Seattle Public Library 15:07 Independence Library and Apartments in Chicago 18:31 New York Public Library 20:54 Seattle Public Library 24:50 Independence Library and Apartments in Chicago 28:33 Seattle Public Library 35:30 Tainan Public Library 37:25 Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library About The show is produced by Maggie Janik and hosted by Harriet Fitch Little. For inquiries or to be featured on an upcoming episode, email designnow@gsd.harvard.edu.

    42 min
  2. Design Now Podcast, Episode 4: Designing a way out of the housing crisis

    10/07/2022

    Design Now Podcast, Episode 4: Designing a way out of the housing crisis

    Does America need a new vision of the ideal home? In episode four of “Design Now” podcast, we discuss the limitations of the single-family home as a model for the future of housing, and meet people who recognize the fundamental role of residential design in creating a more equitable and climate-resilient future. Among the issues on the table are the legacy of urban zoning, historic disparities in homeownership, and the financial systems that shaped residential neighborhoods. Looking to the future, we discuss multigenerational living and the changing shape of the family unit, and look to Singapore for inspiration. Featuring: Alexander von Hoffman, Marc Norman, John Rahaim, Jennifer Molinsky Transcript DISCLAIMER: This episode was recorded in May, 2022. The guests’ titles and their affiliation to the school were accurate at the time of recording. Show Notes 1:26 The State of the Nation’s Housing 2022 report 8:20 Marc Norman’s current projects 11:35 Key facts about homelessness in San Francisco 15:44 Housing and Urbanization in the United States 15:58 Projections and Implications for Housing a Growing Population: OLDER HOUSEHOLDS 2015-2035 19:30 California’s ban on single-family zoning 22:45 History of single-family zoning About The show is produced by Maggie Janik and hosted by Harriet Fitch Little. For inquiries or to be featured on an upcoming episode, email designnow@gsd.harvard.edu.

    38 min
  3. Design Now Podcast, Episode 3: Designing for Social Justice

    05/25/2022

    Design Now Podcast, Episode 3: Designing for Social Justice

    What does a just society look like? Often, it’s not about the things you notice first. A housing project might be built with every care paid to the needs of its future residents, but its impact will be limited if it doesn’t also have good transportation links, or if it is sited downwind of a wastewater treatment facility and with no access to green space. In this episode of Design Now, we speak to people in and around Harvard’s Graduate School of Design who are thinking about social justice at all scales. At one end, there are the huge structural factors that designers must contend with: government policy, the climate crisis, ingrained prejudice and discrimination within both practice and pedagogy. At the more personal end of the scale, we hear about the conversations that designers are having with private clients every day, encouraging them to consider interests other than their own and to “soften the threshold” between private and community spaces. Everyone featured in this episode has their own entry points and specialties, but they are united by a common thought: Designing for social justice is the work of a society, not any one individual. Featuring: Rahul Mehrotra, Daniel D’Oca, Mariam Kamara, Anita Berrizbeitia, Esesua Ikpefan Transcript DISCLAIMER: This episode was recorded in February, 2022. The guests’ titles and their affiliation to the school were accurate at the time of recording. Show Notes 1:49 RMA Architects 4:20 Hathigaon housing project for Mahouts and their elephants, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India 4:48 Interboro Partners 7:32 Atelier Masōmī 12:50 The Arsenal of Exclusion & Inclusion 15:40 California’s ban on single-family zoning 19:57 Free route 23, 28, and 29 bus program – public transit as a public good 20:41 Washington State Transportation Bill of Rights 29:39 Becoming Urban – Research project by Rahul Mehrotra 30:00 Kinetic City – Book by Rahul Mehrotra About The show is produced by Maggie Janik and hosted by Harriet Fitch Little. For inquiries or to be featured on an upcoming episode, email designnow@gsd.harvard.edu.

    38 min
  4. Design Now Podcast, Episode 2: Public Health, the Pandemic, and Beyond

    02/18/2022

    Design Now Podcast, Episode 2: Public Health, the Pandemic, and Beyond

    Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are all thinking more actively about the hygiene of the buildings we spend time in. At the Harvard Graduate School of Design, health has always been a mainstay of research, but the lines of enquiry may surprise those whose minds jump immediately to hand sanitizer and face masks. In this episode we’ll hear from researchers who are making discoveries in fields including: the impact of design on epidemics of noncommunicable diseases, such as heart disease, how the social nature of buildings contributes to health outcomes, and how not all green spaces in cities are created equal. The picture that emerges is of a fascinating, fast-evolving field in which notions of what makes a place “healthy” are deeply complex and layered—and sometimes even contradictory. Featuring: Elvis Garcia, Ann Forsyth, Jill Desimini, Emi Kiyota Transcript DISCLAIMER: This episode was recorded in August, 2021. The guests’ titles and their affiliation to the school were accurate at the time of recording. Show Notes 1:19 Public health in an era of epidemics: from the camp to the building 2:50 Healthy Places Design Lab 4:40 Chart of number of publications focused on obesity over the past decades 6:29 Work of Mindy Thompson Fullilove 6:32 Work of Rodrick Wallace 8:31 Evicted by Matthew Desmond 8:39 Building the Eviction Economy: Speculation, Precarity, and Eviction in Detroit 14:11 Ibasho – non-profit that designs and creates socially integrated and sustainable communities for elders 20:20 Health impacts related to urban and transport planning: A burden of disease assessment 21:37 Superblock Barcelona About The show is produced by Maggie Janik and hosted by Harriet Fitch Little. For inquiries or to be featured on an upcoming episode, email designnow@gsd.harvard.edu.

    23 min
  5. Design Now Podcast, Episode 1: How designers are tackling climate change with restoration ecology, food sovereignty, and sewage

    12/01/2021

    Design Now Podcast, Episode 1: How designers are tackling climate change with restoration ecology, food sovereignty, and sewage

    In the inaugural episode of this Harvard GSD podcast we hear from people working in and around the school about the existential threat posed by climate change. Discover the surprising potential of irrigating agricultural land with sewage, and hear alternating perspectives on critical next steps: the imperative of food sovereignty, the need for self-sufficient cities, and “restoration ecology” schemes that begin right on Harvard’s doorstep.  Featuring: Seth Denizen, Martha Schwartz, Adriana David, David Moreno Mateos, Montserrat Bonvehi Rosich Transcript DISCLAIMER: This episode was recorded in April, 2021. The guests’ titles and their affiliation to the school were accurate at the time of recording. Show Notes 4:17 Martha Schwartz Partners 5:35 DMM Research 6:37 Re-Wilding Harvard 7:30 Climate by Design 12:20 Thinking through Soil 17:16 New Visions for Wastewater Equity in The Mezquital Valley 17:16 The Desert We Eat 20:24 The Architecture of Food Sovereignty 21:25 Counter-Meal About The show is produced by Maggie Janik and hosted by Harriet Fitch Little. For inquiries or to be featured on an upcoming episode, email designnow@gsd.harvard.edu.

    27 min
  • 5 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

4.7
out of 5
10 Ratings

About

In each episode of Design Now—the Harvard Graduate School of Design’s quarterly podcast—faculty, researchers, alumni, and students engage in dialogue on a single topic of global significance. Episodes on the climate crisis, social justice, public health, housing, technology, urbanization, and transportation present new research on design thinking and practice, and illuminate the many, sometimes unexpected, ways in which design is engaged in questions of global politics, culture, and society.

Information

  • Creator
    Harvard Graduate School of Design
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2023
  • Episodes
    5
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Design Now
  • Show Website
    Design Now